Egg-toting pranksters crack a big joke

An enormous egg sits in Bob Ricci's cornfield at the Ricci Villa in Snohomish on Wednesday. The egg apparently is the work of pranksters, who move it during the night, so it appears in different locations on the farm.

Dan Bates / The Herald

Darrell Ricci, 78 (foreground) on Wednesday leans in to size up a giant egg in the cornfield at the family farm near Snohomish. His son, Brock Ricci, 52, (left) watches while Lucy Jo, 5, and Jorga, 4, (the children of Darrell Ricci's other son, Bob Ricci,) wait in the John Deere. The egg, about 6 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, apparently is the work pranksters who move it during the night.

Dan Bates / The Herald

An enormous egg sits in Bob Ricci's cornfield at the Ricci Villa in Snohomish on Wednesday. The egg apparently is the work of pranksters, who move it during the night, so it appears in different locations on the farm.

An enormous egg sits in Bob Ricci's cornfield at the Ricci Villa in Snohomish on Wednesday. The egg apparently is the work of pranksters, who move it during the night, so it appears in different locations on the farm.

Dan Bates / The Herald

Darrell Ricci, 78 (foreground) on Wednesday leans in to size up a giant egg in the cornfield at the family farm near Snohomish. His son, Brock Ricci, 52, (left) watches while Lucy Jo, 5, and Jorga, 4, (the children of Darrell Ricci's other son, Bob Ricci,) wait in the John Deere. The egg, about 6 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, apparently is the work pranksters who move it during the night.

Dan Bates / The Herald

An enormous egg sits in Bob Ricci's cornfield at the Ricci Villa in Snohomish on Wednesday. The egg apparently is the work of pranksters, who move it during the night, so it appears in different locations on the farm.

SNOHOMISH -- For mystery, this egg is hard to beat.Large enough for a human to fit inside, a yellow egg turned up on the Ricci family farm south of Snohomish on Feb. 11.Every morning for the next four days, the egg turned up in a different place on the 300-acre farm. Once, it was sitting up against a utility pole.Then it disappeared and was gone for four days. When it returned on Wednesday, it was sitting in the middle of a large field on the farm along Elliott Road.This time, it was white.On Thursday, it was gone again."It'll probably be purple next time," said Darrell Ricci, 78, the farm's patriarch.Family members swear they did not hatch this caper.They've stayed up late several times to see if they can spy the perpetrators, to no avail, said Brock Ricci, one of Darrell's sons."We've tried, but we haven't camped out all night," he said. At times, the family's dog barked, and "we'd look and watch and wouldn't be able to see anything."They haven't had many clues. No pterodactyl sightings have been reported."All we've noticed is tire tracks," he said.The egg is about 6 feet long and 4 feet in diameter, said Brock Ricci, 52."It feels like a hard plastic, or fiberglass. It's hollow inside."The family grows hay, corn and pumpkins on the farm. Bob Ricci, Darrell's son and Brock's brother, runs Bob's Corn, Maze and Pumpkin Farm on the property.Darrell Ricci keeps about 50 chickens, but family members insist the egg is not a publicity stunt for Easter or anything else."We've been suspicious of a few people," Brock Ricci said. "They deny it."When the egg was missing, family members actually went so far as to drive around the homes of friends to see if they had it stashed on their property, but didn't see it, Darrell Ricci said."I guess it's like that old Swedish joke -- 'The yolk's on us,'" he said.Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.

Calendar

Share your comments: Log in using your HeraldNet account or your Facebook, Twitter or Disqus profile. Comments that violate the rules are subject to removal. Please see our terms of use. Please note that you must verify your email address for your comments to appear.